1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hay feeder for horses that controls the speed at which the horse eats the hay from the hay feeder.
2. Background of the Prior Art
While many horses are allowed to graze at pasture, others horses are fed in a stall or other location. Some pastured horses must also be stall fed during the times of year when the pasture is barren of food or otherwise covered in snow and ice or when the weather is otherwise uncooperative with pasture feeding. A common food choice for stall fed horses is hay, sometimes mixed with other nutrients such as vitamins. One of the problems experienced by many horse owners who stall feed the horse, is that the horse eats too fast. Eating too fast can result in “choke” or esophageal obstruction in the horse an unpleasant and potentially harmful side effect.
Additionally, many horses that are stall fed tend to consume too much hay, especially if the horse is eating the hay too fast. Aside from the cost of the breeding stock, the majority of the cost of owning a horse is usually the feed given to the horse. A normal horse eats on the order of between 2-3 percent of the horse's weight in dry weight equivalent feed. Allowing a horse to eat too much is not only wasteful and expensive, it can also cause labored breathing in the horse as well as lack of stamina. While rationing the hay to a horse can reduce the problem of overeating, this is not always possible, especially in a multiple horse setting.
Devices have been proposed that attempt to control the speed with which the horse consumes hay in order to prevent both choke and overeating. Such devices, which work with varying degrees of effectiveness, tend to be complex in design and construction, making such devices expensive to manufacture, obtain and maintain. Some prior all devices, especially those that rely on springs for their proper functioning, have the potential to cause injury to the animal during use.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a device that helps control the speed with which a horse consumes hay in a stall or other non-pasture setting in order to help prevent choke as well as overeating with their attendant problems. Such a device must be simple in design and construction and be easy to use and maintain. Such a device must have minimal potential for causing injury to the horse and owner alike.